Pros and Cons – USB Microphones for Voice Recording

Voice over recording has grow to be much less difficult and handy because the invention of USB mics. Your entire studio can be a laptop personal computer as well as a USB mic. But there are some drawbacks in making use of a USB mic instead of a conventional analog mic. Let's look in the good, the bad as well as the ugly of USB mics.

First of all, what is a USB mic? For decades microphones have been devices that have converted sound waves into a continuous analog electrical signal. This signal was then fed by means of a mixer to a tape recorder which then recorded the waveform on tape. When the tape was played back, the electrical signal reproduced was amplified via speakers and also the original sound was reproduced. But that was so last millenium! As the new century dawned tape disappeared and sound was becoming recorded as numbers on a computer--digital recording. To convert sound to numbers (digital), the analog microphone signal was put by means of equipment that contained an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). These numbers were then passed on to the personal computer to record. When the numbers were played back via the opposite equipment -- a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) sound was heard when once again inside the speakers.

Then some bright inventor decided to put that analog-to-digital converter into the base with the microphone and send the digital signal out more than a USB pc cable (yep, just like your printer cable!) and therefore was born the USB mic. And the globe of recording was much far better... well, not precisely.

The Great. Convenience. Cost. In its simplest form you are able to now have a recording studio that consists of one's microphone and your laptop (or desktop) computer. The devices are "plug and play" which implies they don't require a sound card or drivers to operate. You just plug it into the USB port of one's pc and also the mic appears within your sound manage panel. Conventional analog mics needed a preamp, a mixer and then the A-to-D converter to obtain the exact same job done. For voice over talent this means you'll be able to record with much much less investment. And your studio is a lot more portable. Just take your mic and laptop with you to the Bahamas and you'll be able to still nail that "must do" audition or job and send the finished files to the client through the web. Reasonable high quality mics are available beginning at around $100. Whenever you get as much as about $200 the top quality is just fine for VO perform. And you do not have to buy all that additional equipment.

The Bad. Not very professional. Single mic use. Early mic designs used a standard A-to-D chip that was restricted to 16 bit/44.1 kHz recordings. Though this really is CD quality, numerous pro recordings use the greater 24 bit/96 kHz normal. But this really is changing. The latest mics are utilizing a brand new chip that gives this 24 bit/96 kHz choice. Also For those who have a application where you need numerous mics or you should mix the mic with other signals you'll require a mixer and you'll wish to use analog mics. Simply because the USB mics are seen as pc signals, recording software can typically only deal with one, or in the most a stereo pair of USB mics. This shouldn't be a drawback for simple voice more than jobs where you're only recording 1 voice.

The Ugly. No acquire adjust. Latency. Some USB mics don't have acquire adjustment, or at best they have a level switch. Once you do voice overs you might whisper for 1 job and shout for the next. You need a approach to make certain that the recording level is adequate but not clipping in any performance. Analog mixers had "gain" knob that let you adjust the mic level. You shouldn't have to adjust your speech volume or your mic distance to attain the appropriate recording level. So no acquire knob is really a issue. USB mics also have latency. This really is a computer processing delay between the time you speak and also the time you hear your voice. Inside the worst case this could be so long as a quarter second. This makes monitoring your self with headphones annoying or impossible. The latest generation of USB mics has recognized these two problems with all the addition of infinite gain knobs and direct monitoring. So you'll be able to adjust the mic gain to fit your circumstance. And now you'll be able to plug headphones directly into the mic and hear your voice in real time by means of an analog headphone jack having a volume adjust.

All In All I Like Them. I think the pros of USB mic far outweigh the cons. The newest generation of USB mics with gain control and latency-free monitoring enable you to sling your studio over your shoulder and take it anywhere within the world. Add a high-speed web connection and it is "have voice-will travel". Bahamas here I come!